Following the end of the 2024-25 season, Steve Kerr’s comments essentially clarified that Jonathan Kuminga no longer has a future with the Warriors. The Warriors would’ve liked to maximize his trade value. As the 22-year-old became a restricted free agent this summer, the Warriors began to find Kuminga a home in a sign-and-trade deal.
However, they have received almost no interest in Kuminga, and whichever teams have shown interest have made offers nowhere close to what the Warriors think they deserve for him. According to Anthony Slater, the Warriors’ insider for The Athletic, only the Kings have shown serious interest in Kuminga, but their trade offer is not acceptable to the Warriors.
“No significant traction on the Jonathan Kuminga front over the weekend, per sources. Restricted free agency around the NBA remains ice cold. Conversations and little action. Kings have been the strongest pursuer of Warriors’ wing, but nothing has come close.”
According to sources, Kuminga demanded a contract in the approximate range of $30 million per year, making him the third-highest earner for the Warriors after Stephen Curry ($59.6 million) and Jimmy Butler ($54.1 million). Kuminga believes he is more valuable to the Warriors than Draymond Green, the four-time NBA champion who is expected to earn $25.8 million in the coming season (2025-26).
Several teams in the league are looking for an athletic wing like Kuminga. Off the top of my head, a team like the Lakers could use his talents in the long run alongside Luka Doncic. But the main concern is his financial demands, which will make it tough for the Lakers to add him to the roster and still have the flexibility they want for the 2027 season.
According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Brooklyn Nets are the only team in the NBA that could potentially extend a contract to Kuminga in the range of approximately $20 million per year. Having extended the $7.9 million qualifying offer to Kuminga, the Warriors plan to get some yield for Kuminga instead of letting him go for nothing.
In order for Kuminga and the Warriors to come to a solution, the first step has to be a compromise. While one could endlessly argue that the Warriors did not do justice to Kuminga, he also cannot expect to have a high-priority role and make demands like he is a regular starter.
Kuminga fell in the pecking order for the Warriors when they traded Andrew Wiggins for Jimmy Butler. He played only 47 games in the last regular season, where he averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.
Only Kuminga is the one who stands to lose from keeping the negotiations in a deadlock. My suggestion would be that Kuminga should ask for a short-term deal on team-friendly terms, join another team and prove his worth in that short-term contract on a team that regularly plays him, only then will he be able to convince any GM in the NBA to offer him a $30 million+ contract with those numbers.
